Isaiah 17:1-3
Contemporary English Version
Damascus Will Be Punished
17 (A) This is a message about Damascus:
Damascus is doomed!
It will end up in ruins.
2 The villages around Aroer[a]
will be deserted,
with only sheep living there
and no one to bother them.
3 Israel[b] will lose its fortresses.
The kingdom of Damascus
will be destroyed;
its survivors will suffer
the same fate as Israel.
The Lord All-Powerful
has promised this.
Jeremiah 49:23-27
Contemporary English Version
What the Lord Says about Damascus
23 (A) The Lord says about Damascus:
The towns of Hamath and Arpad[a]
have heard your bad news.
They have lost hope,
and worries roll over them
like ocean waves.[b]
24 You people of Damascus
have lost your courage,
and in panic you turn to run,
gripped by fear and pain.[c]
25 Once I was pleased
with your famous city.
But now I warn you, “Escape
while you still can!”[d]
26 Soon, even your best soldiers
will lie dead in your streets.
I, the Lord All-Powerful,
have spoken.
27 I will set fire to your city walls
and burn down the fortresses
King Benhadad built.
Footnotes
- 49.23 Hamath and Arpad: Two towns in Syria that had been the capitals of small kingdoms allied with the more powerful kingdom whose capital was Damascus.
- 49.23 worries … waves: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 49.24 gripped by fear and pain: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 49.25 can: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 25.
Amos 1:3-5
Contemporary English Version
Judgment on Syria
3 (A) The Lord said:
I will punish Syria[a]
for countless crimes,
and I won't change my mind.
They dragged logs with spikes[b]
over the people of Gilead.
4 Now I will burn down the palaces
and fortresses of King Hazael
and of King Benhadad.[c]
5 I will break through
the gates of Damascus.
I will destroy the people[d]
of Wicked Valley[e]
and the ruler of Beth-Eden.[f]
Then the Syrians will be dragged
as prisoners to Kir.[g]
I, the Lord, have spoken!
Footnotes
- 1.3 Syria: The Hebrew text has “Damascus,” the leading city of Syria.
- 1.3 logs with spikes: These were dragged over grain to thresh it.
- 1.4 Hazael … Benhadad: Two Syrian kings.
- 1.5 people: Or “king.”
- 1.5 Wicked Valley: The Hebrew text has “Aven Valley,” probably the fertile valley between the Lebanon and the Anti-Lebanon mountains.
- 1.5 I will … Beth-Eden: Or “I will destroy the people of Wicked Valley and the king who rules from Beth-Eden.” Beth-Eden was a city-state on the banks of the Euphrates River.
- 1.5 Kir: The exact location of this country is not known; in 9.7 Amos refers to Kir as the original home of the Syrians, and so the verse probably means that the Syrians will lose everything they have gained as a people.
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